Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, July 9, 2008

"I would be devastated," the 30-year-old Baker Oil Tools employee said as she and co-worker Deborah Martinez dipped chips Monday into fresh pico at Ninfa's restaurant east of downtown. "I'm very big on salsa."

While there's no ban yet to keep restaurants from serving the two Texas staples and no ban on produce used to make them, federal and state officials are trying to decide whether the salmonella outbreak that was at first linked to tomatoes is tied to other salsa and pico ingredients, including onions, jalapenos, serrano peppers or cilantro.

When the salmonella outbreak was linked first to tomatoes, some Mexican food restaurants stopped serving pico de gallo altogether.

"We stopped for about two weeks," said Ninfa's chef Alex Padilla. Some patrons complained, but understood.

"They think we were doing it for a good reason," Padilla said. "I won't take a chance."

There is reason to be concerned. A Houston cancer patient named Raul Rivera died after becoming infected with salmonella Saintpaul. Although cancer was listed as the 67-year-old's official cause of death, Rivera's relatives have said he became ill after eating pico de gallo.

So far, 991 cases of illness have been linked to the same strain of salmonella, with at least one-third of those reported in Texas.

Although no one is sure why so many cases of illness have occurred here, Houston restaurants that serve salsa and pico are taking extra precautions.

At Ninfa's and Hugo's in Montrose, produce suppliers are having to give the restaurants written verification that their produce does not come from outside the U.S. or certain counties in Florida.

"Whatever it takes, we'll do it," said Isidro Neri, general manager at Hugo's Restaurant in Montrose. "Safety is first for our guests."

Texas produce has not been found to be a source of the outbreak.

Once Ninfa's verified the origin of its vendors' produce, the restaurant put pico back on the menu last week.

Salsa, which typically uses roasted vegetables, is less of a threat, said Padilla. "Everything we use (in salsa) is cooked."

The Texas Department of Health is working closely with the federal government to record occurrences of the illness and question thoroughly those who are sick about what they last ate.

So far, there's not enough evidence to point to one food, said Emily Palmer, the agency spokeswoman.

"It's all over the place," she said of those who have reported becoming ill with salmonella. "Some people say they ate peppers or onions or cilantro, others are saying they didn't. ... Nothing has jumped to the forefront right now."

However, discussions have already begun at the restaurants about what to do if other vegetables are determined to be a culprit. Poblano peppers, for instance, can be used in- stead of jalapenos for a milder salsa.

But finding a replacement for cilantro? That's trickier, Padilla said.